Nestable collapsible containers

ABSTRACT

A set of one-piece containers constructed so that each of the containers has a peripheral side wall which is arranged to permit movement of each container from an extended position to a collapsed position by reason of a telescoping relationship between the various sections of the peripheral side wall. The set of containers is constructed so that the outermost and innermost dimensions of the peripheral side walls are such that, in the collapsed position, the containers are nestable one within another to provide for low-volume storage of the entire set of containers between uses.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to sets of reusable and re-collapsible one-piececontainers and caps of the same general appearance, which are nestableone within another to provide for low-volume storage of the entire setof containers between uses.

Collapsible containers are, of course, well known. For example, inapplicant's own prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,384,138; 5,392,941; 5,417,377;5,533,638; and 5,575,398 show collapsible, thin wall, plastic containershaving a closed end, an annular peripheral side wall and an open end,the peripheral side wall including a plurality of annular steps orshoulders for enabling controlled axial collapse of the container to acompact, collapsed condition wherein at least one fold of the side wallsurround a remaining un-collapsed portion of the container, and aremovable cap is securable to the open end. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,384,138,the cap is disclosed to include a further container or chamber of anentirely different structure for holding, for example, a foodstuff.

Nesting sets of similar containers are also well known. For example U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,951,832; 5,769,229; and 6,796,430 as well as U.S. PatentApplication Publication 2006/0070907 show a set of graduated containers,with each container having a lid that may be placed on top to seal itsrespective container. The lids may be attached to the bottom in orderthat a smaller container with lid attached may be nested in the nextlarger container for convenient storage without loss or misplacing thelid. However, none of the containers are shown to be collapsible, andthus the nested set of containers shown in these patents necessarilyoccupies the space of the largest container.

What is needed is a set of reusable and re-collapsible, one-piececontainers having the same general appearance which are nestable onewithin another to provide for low-volume storage of the entire set ofcontainers between uses.

SUMMARY

A set of one-piece containers can be constructed so that each of thecontainers has a peripheral side wall which is arranged to permitmovement of each container from an extended position to a collapsedposition by reason of a telescoping relationship between the varioussections of the peripheral side wall. The set of containers can beconstructed so that the outermost and innermost dimensions of theperipheral side walls are such that, in the collapsed position, thecontainers are nestable one within another to provide for low-volumestorage of the entire set of containers between uses. The containers canbe molded from a variety of plastics to have the structural features andflexibility necessary to move between the collapsed and the extendedpositions.

In a preferred embodiment the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers can include a lowermost portion, an uppermostportion and an intermediate portion. The uppermost portion of theperipheral side wall of each of the set of one-piece containers caninclude an upwardly facing and radially outwardly curved portion thatprovides a good gripping surface to facilitate collapse of eachcontainer. The uppermost portion of the peripheral side wall of each ofthe set of one-piece containers can also include a downwardly facing andradially inwardly curved portion that provides a good gripping surfaceto facilitate extension of each container. A junction of the upwardlyfacing and radially outwardly curved portion and the downwardly facingand radially inwardly curved portion of each of the set of one-piececontainers can form a ridge, which is preferably smoothly rounded,defining the outermost dimension of the peripheral side wall. Theconfiguration of the uppermost portion of the peripheral side wall ofeach of the set of one-piece containers remains substantially unchangedbetween the extended and collapsed position of each of the containers.

The lowermost portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers can have an upwardly facing and radially outwardlycurved surface that extends downwardly substantially to a smooth heeljoining the lowermost portion of the peripheral side wall to the bottomwall. The upwardly facing and radially outwardly curved surface of thelowermost portion of each of the set of one-piece containers provides agood gripping surface to facilitate extension of each container. Anadditional inwardly curved gripping area can be included in the heelportion joining the lowermost portion of the peripheral side wall to thebottom wall to facilitate the extension of one or more of the containerfrom the collapsed position to the extended position. The configurationof the lowermost portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the setof one-piece containers remains substantially unchanged between theextended and collapsed position of each of the containers.

The intermediate portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the setof one-piece containers joins the uppermost portion to the lowermostportion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set of one-piececontainers. A first circumferential transitional step joins an uppermargin of the intermediate portion of the peripheral side wall to alower margin of the uppermost portion of the peripheral side wall ofeach of the set of one-piece containers. Similarly, a secondcircumferential transitional step joins a lower margin of theintermediate portion of the peripheral side wall to an upper margin ofthe lowermost portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers. The first circumferential transitional step ofeach of the set of one-piece containers has a diameter that is greaterthan the second circumferential transitional step of the same containerso that, when in the extended position, the intermediate portion of theperipheral side wall of each of the set of one-piece containers can forma downwardly facing and radially inwardly curved surface.

In the collapsed position, the intermediate portion of the peripheralside wall of each of the set of one-piece containers is inverted andsituated radially between uppermost and the lowermost portions of theperipheral side wall of the same container. In the collapsed position,the first circumferential transitional step of each of the set ofone-piece containers can be positioned at about an upper margin of theheel portion of the same container, while the intermediate portioncurves upwardly and inwardly to the second circumferential transitionalstep at the upper margin of the lowermost portion of the peripheral sidewall. An inner surface of the lowermost portion of the peripheral sidewall of each of the set of one-piece containers defines a minimuminternal diameter for each container. The diameter of the ridge definingthe outermost dimension of the peripheral side wall of each of the setof one-piece containers can be sized to be no greater than the minimuminternal diameter of the next larger container in the set of one-piececollapsible containers so that the containers are nestable one withinanother to provide for low-volume storage of the entire set ofcontainers between uses.

Other features of the present set of one-piece containers and thecorresponding advantages of those features will be come apparent fromthe following discussion of a preferred embodiment, which is illustratedin the accompanying drawings. The components in the figures are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustratingthe principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, likereferenced numerals designate corresponding parts throughout thedifferent views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a side elevation view of a first container of the set in anextended position.

FIG. 1B is a side elevation view of a second container of the set in anextended position.

FIG. 1C is a side elevation view of a third container of the set in anextended position.

FIG. 2A is a side elevation view of the first container of the set in acollapsed position.

FIG. 2B is a side elevation view of the second container of the set in acollapsed position.

FIG. 2C is a side elevation view of the third container of the set in acollapsed position.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the set of containers in the collapsedposition with accompanying lids and ready for nesting one with another.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the nested set of containers withthe containers being in the collapsed position.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of one of the containers.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A set of one-piece containers 10 is shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 1C. Theset can be constructed so that the peripheral side wall 12 of each ofthe set of one-piece containers can include a lowermost portion 14, anuppermost portion 16 and an intermediate portion 18. The uppermostportion 16 of the peripheral side wall 12 of each of the set ofone-piece containers can include an upwardly facing and radiallyoutwardly curved portion 20 that provides a good gripping surface tofacilitate collapse of each container 10. The uppermost portion 16 ofthe peripheral side wall of each of the set of one-piece containers canalso include a downwardly facing and radially inwardly curved portion 22that provides a good gripping surface to facilitate extension of eachcontainer 10. A junction of the upwardly facing and radially outwardlycurved portion 20 and the downwardly facing and radially inwardly curvedportion 22 of each of the set of one-piece containers 10 can form aridge 24, which is preferably smoothly rounded, defining the outermostdimension of the peripheral side wall 12. The configuration of theuppermost portion 16 of the peripheral side wall 12 of each of the setof one-piece containers 10 remains substantially unchanged between theextended, shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, and a collapsed position of each of thecontainers shown in FIGS. 2A-2C.

The set of one-piece containers 10 can also be constructed so that alowermost portion 14 of the peripheral side wall 12 of each of the setof one-piece containers 10 can have an upwardly facing and radiallyoutwardly curved surface 28 that extends downwardly substantially to asmooth heel 30 joining the lowermost portion 14 of the peripheral sidewall to a bottom wall 32. The upwardly facing and radially outwardlycurved surface 28 of the lowermost portion 14 of each of the set ofone-piece containers provides a good gripping surface to facilitateextension of each container 10 from the configuration shown in FIGS.2A-2C to the configuration shown in FIGS. 1A-1C. An additional inwardlycurved gripping area 34 can be included in the heel portion 30 joiningthe lowermost portion 14 of the peripheral side wall to the bottom wall32 to facilitate the extension of one or more of the container set fromthe collapsed position to the extended position. The configuration ofthe lowermost portion 14 of the peripheral side wall 12 of each of theset of one-piece containers remains substantially unchanged between theextended and collapsed position of each of the containers 10.

The set of one-piece containers 10 can also be constructed so that theintermediate portion 18 of the peripheral side wall 12 of each of theset of one-piece containers 10 joins the uppermost portion 16 to thelowermost portion 16 of the peripheral side wall 12 of each of the setof one-piece containers 10. A first circumferential transitional step 38joins an upper margin of the intermediate portion 18 of the peripheralside wall to a lower margin of the uppermost portion 16 of theperipheral side wall 12 of each of the set of one-piece containers 10.Similarly, a second circumferential transitional step 40 joins a lowermargin of the intermediate portion 18 of the peripheral side wall to anupper margin of the lowermost portion 14 of the peripheral side wall 12of each of the set of one-piece containers 10. The first circumferentialtransitional step 38 of each of the set of one-piece containers 10 has adiameter that is greater than the second circumferential transitionalstep 40 of the same container so that, when in the extended position,the intermediate portion 18 of the peripheral side wall 12 of each ofthe set of one-piece containers 10 can form a downwardly facing andradially inwardly curved surface 42.

In the collapsed position shown in FIGS. 2A-2C and in FIG. 4, theintermediate portion 18 of the peripheral side wall of each of the setof one-piece containers is inverted and situated radially betweenuppermost 16 and the lowermost portions 14 of the peripheral side wallof the same container 10.

In the collapsed position, the first circumferential transitional step38 of each of the set of one-piece containers 10 can be positioned atabout an upper margin of the heel portion 30 of the same container,while the intermediate portion 18 curves upwardly and inwardly to thesecond circumferential transitional step 40 at the upper margin of thelowermost portion 14 of the peripheral side wall. As shown in FIG. 4, aninner surface 44 of the lowermost portion 14 of the peripheral side wallof each of the set of one-piece containers 10 defines a minimum internaldiameter for each container 10. The diameter of the ridge 24 definingthe outermost dimension of the peripheral side wall 12 of each of theset of one-piece containers 10 can be sized to be no greater than theminimum internal diameter of the next larger container in the set ofone-piece collapsible containers so that the containers are nestable onewithin another, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, to provide for low-volumestorage of the entire set of containers 10 between uses.

Each container 10 of the set preferably includes an annular rim 46defining an opening into the container 10, the annular rim being adaptedfor engagement with a lid 48 to close the container 10. The engagingfeature can take the form of a screw thread, a bayonet connection, orother similar feature that will permit the lid 48 to be removed andre-applied to the container 10. A maximum volume of the containers 10 ofthe set shown in the drawings can be, for example, 2-cups, 3.5-cups, and6-cups, but other maximum volumes are also possible. A maximum diameterfor the ridge 24 of such a set of containers 10 can be, for example,3.84 in., 4.63 in., and 5.44 in., respectively, but other maximumdiameters are also possible. When in the extended position, the verticaldimension of such a set of containers 10, measured from the bottom wall32 to the annular rim 46, can be, for example, 4.20 in., 4.94 in., and5.65 in., respectively, but other vertical dimensions are also possible.While the set of containers 10 is illustrated to be a set of threecontainers, the set can consist of at least two containers, and mayconsist of up to six or more containers.

While these features have been disclosed in connection with theillustrated preferred embodiment, other embodiments of the inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that come within the spiritof the invention as defined in the following claims.

1. A set of one-piece containers, each container comprising a bottomwall and a peripheral side wall extending upward from the bottom wall,the side wall including an annular rim defining an opening into thecontainer, the annular rim being adapted for engagement with a lid toclose the container, the peripheral side wall being arranged to includethree portions adapted to permit movement of each container of the setfrom an extended position to a collapsed position by reason of afolding, telescoping movement between the various sections of theperipheral side wall, the side wall having in the collapsed position anoutermost side wall dimension and an innermost side wall dimension, theoutermost and innermost dimensions of the peripheral side walls beingdimensioned such that, in the collapsed position, the containers of theset are nestable one within another to provide for low-volume storage ofthe entire set of containers between uses.
 2. The set of one-piececontainers of claim 1, wherein the three portions of the peripheral sidewall consist essentially of an uppermost portion, a lowermost portion,an intermediate portion joining the uppermost and lowermost portions,with a smooth heel joining the lowermost portion of the peripheral sidewall to the bottom wall.
 3. The set of one-piece containers of claim 2,wherein the smooth heel joining the lowermost portion of the peripheralside wall to the bottom wall of at least one of the set of containersfurther comprises additional inwardly curved gripping area to facilitatethe extension of the at least one of the containers from the collapsedposition to the extended position.
 4. The set of one-piece containers ofclaim 2, wherein the lowermost portion of the peripheral side wall ofeach of the set of one-piece containers has an upwardly facing andradially outwardly curved surface that extends downwardly to the smoothheel.
 5. The set of one-piece containers of claim 2, wherein theuppermost portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers includes an upwardly facing and radially outwardlycurved portion, a downwardly facing and radially inwardly curvedportion, and a junction of the upwardly facing and radially outwardlycurved portion and the downwardly facing and radially inwardly curvedportion of each of the set of one-piece containers form a smoothlyrounded ridge defining the outermost dimension of the peripheral sidewall.
 6. The set of one-piece containers of claim 2, further comprisinga first circumferential transitional step joining an upper margin of theintermediate portion of the peripheral side wall to a lower margin ofthe uppermost portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers, a second circumferential transitional step joininga lower margin of the intermediate portion of the peripheral side wallto an upper margin of the lowermost portion of the peripheral side wallof each of the set of one-piece containers, the first circumferentialtransitional step of each of the set of one-piece containers having adiameter that is greater than the second circumferential transitionalstep of the same container so that, when in the extended position, theintermediate portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers forms a downwardly facing and radially inwardlycurved surface.
 7. The set of one-piece containers of claim 6, where inthe collapsed position, the intermediate portion of the peripheral sidewall of each of the set of one-piece containers is inverted and situatedradially between uppermost and the lowermost portions of the peripheralside wall of the same container, the first circumferential transitionalstep of each of the set of one-piece containers is positioned at aboutan upper margin of the heel portion of the same container, while theintermediate portion curves upwardly and inwardly to the secondcircumferential transitional step at the upper margin of the lowermostportion of the peripheral side wall, and an inner surface of thelowermost portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers defines a minimum internal diameter for eachcontainer, the diameter of the ridge defining the outermost dimension ofthe peripheral side wall of each of the set of one-piece containersbeing sized to be no greater than the minimum internal diameter of thenext larger container in the set of one-piece collapsible containers. 8.A set of one-piece containers, each container comprising a bottom walland a peripheral side wall extending upward from the bottom wall, theside wall including an annular rim defining an opening into thecontainer, the annular rim being adapted for engagement with a lid toclose the container, the peripheral side wall being arranged to includethree portions adapted to permit movement of each container of the setfrom an extended position to a collapsed position by reason of afolding, telescoping movement between the various sections of theperipheral side wall, an uppermost portion of the peripheral side wallof each of the set of one-piece containers includes an upwardly facingand radially outwardly curved portion facilitating collapse of eachcontainer, a downwardly facing and radially inwardly curved portionfacilitation extension of each container, and a junction of the upwardlyfacing and radially outwardly curved portion and the downwardly facingand radially inwardly curved portion of each of the set of one-piececontainers forming a smoothly rounded ridge defining the outermostdimension of the peripheral side wall, the side wall having in thecollapsed position an innermost side wall dimension, the outermost andinnermost dimensions of the peripheral side walls being dimensioned suchthat, in the collapsed position, the containers of the set are nestableone within another to provide for low-volume storage of the entire setof containers between uses.
 9. The set of one-piece containers of claim8, wherein a lowermost portion of the peripheral side wall includes anupwardly facing and radially outwardly curved surface that extendsdownwardly to a smooth heel joining the lowermost portion of theperipheral side wall to the bottom wall, and an inwardly curved grippingarea to facilitate the extension of the at least one of the containersfrom the collapsed position to the extended position.
 10. The set ofone-piece containers of claim 9, wherein the peripheral side wall ofeach of the set of containers includes an intermediate portion situatedbetween the uppermost portion and the lowermost portion, and in theextended position a first circumferential transitional step joining anupper margin of the intermediate portion of the peripheral side wall toa lower margin of the uppermost portion of the peripheral side wall ofeach of the set of one-piece containers, a second circumferentialtransitional step joining a lower margin of the intermediate portion ofthe peripheral side wall to an upper margin of the lowermost portion ofthe peripheral side wall of each of the set of one-piece containers, thefirst circumferential transitional step of each of the set of one-piececontainers having a diameter that is greater than the secondcircumferential transitional step of the same container.
 11. The set ofone-piece containers of claim 10, where in the collapsed position, theintermediate portion of the peripheral side wall of each of the set ofone-piece containers is inverted and situated radially between uppermostand the lowermost portions of the peripheral side wall of the samecontainer, the first circumferential transitional step of each of theset of one-piece containers is positioned at about an upper margin ofthe heel portion of the same container, while the intermediate portioncurves upwardly and inwardly to the second circumferential transitionalstep at the upper margin of the lowermost portion of the peripheral sidewall, and an inner surface of the lowermost portion of the peripheralside wall of each of the set of one-piece containers defines a minimuminternal diameter for each container, the diameter of the ridge definingthe outermost dimension of the peripheral side wall of each of the setof one-piece containers being sized to be no greater than the minimuminternal diameter of the next larger container in the set of one-piececollapsible containers.